The Last of Benton

Disclaimer: This post has language that isn’t meant for children under the age of 15. Please click the red x in the top right corner if you do not meet that age requirement. You have been warned. Thank you.

Hi everyone.
I hate making this post, but I’ve been pretty quiet concerning Benton since my last update, but some serious shit has hit the fan.
Most of you may know me from the Asian Beauty sub-reddit (feel free to say hi!), where I’m a frequent contributor to threads and have formed some pretty awesome relationships with bloggers and posters galore. It’s an awesome feeling when you can bond with people continents away over Asian Beauty and other things.
But there’s a downside – it’s the internet, and your personal information is always up for grabs and can be exploited.
Long story short, Sample Hime, a popular Asian skincare/makeup reviewer, was doxxed.
The definition of doxxing is:

-cited from Wikipedia
I didn’t actually see the information, so my credibility is knocked there; I do however have the aftermath. The user was ‘/u/Bentonceo’, and the comment was deleted by the moderator of Asian Beauty and the user’s account was deleted by reddit administrators. Sample Hime has contacted Benton, and they have admitted some sort of lapse in their security – she can explain that if she chooses to.

As a person sitting behind a computer typing this to you now, I am frightened. I am a student. I blog about products for fun, to help both the palest and the darkest,and to share my experience with you all. Is this the punishment we get for telling the truth and sharing our experience? Do CEOs of companies look at bloggers and say, ‘Wow, they’re trying to discredit my business! Let’s put them on blast!’

Because we aren’t. We do this for you. I do this for you. I use my face as a testing grounds so you don’t have to – I share what works for me so you don’t have to waste YOUR money and YOUR time and ruin your precious skin. I have issues with certain companies (not in the AB community); I refuse to buy from them knowing their customer service is crap. Does this mean you should do the same? No. We have different skin and differing opinions on what constitutes bad customer service. If I have an incident related to my blog, one that I wish to share with you, I will. I have opinions formed but have not bought from these companies yet, and may not in the future.

How the hell is this okay? Why is it that as bloggers, we’re getting the proverbial KO to both our credibility and our online life because we tell the truth? What sense does that even make?! Her personal information, including PAYPAL EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER, AND HER CURRENT ADDRESS, were once available to any passerby on the internet. This is so many levels of wrong.I know that Benton’s contaminated essence has been the main cause of my skin’s irritation. My diet has remained the same, and I have not gone on any new medications or been taken off of them. Because this is MY skin and MY face, I am making the choice not to use Benton’s products anymore. I do admit that before the possible contamination, the products worked well. I am not willing to try their products in the future. This is my personal decision. In NO way am I saying you need to do the same, so please – as a blogger, I ask you do research in places other than this post to make a well informed decision.

I asked the company for $15 in terms of medical assistance, because I was so desperate I purchased benzoyl peroxide, which didn’t work. I’m currently on a Paula’s Choice ‘diet’ of sorts, using the BHA to prevent acne and the AHA to lighten my skin, but months later, my skin still looks like shit, and has cost me about $50 as of the last MONTH, which I doubt will be put back in my pocket.

This is my face from the second review I ever did, the Tony Moly Green Appletox.

This is my face as of today. The quality is not up to par, but I don’t have access to my camera currently.

My face is still messed up – yeah, the dark marks are getting lighter, which is great, but the texture of my skin is horrible – the splotches are embarrassing and part of me regrets even writing about Asian Beauty products because if this is what I get, along with the threat of having my personal information spread on the internet… is it worth it?

And I realize it is. The truth is always more important. If it helps people, then it’s necessary.

I will continue blogging, I will continue sharing my opinion, and I will continue to tell the truth. Like I always have. Like I always will.